Winemaker Notes
To the eye, Blanc des Millénaires 2014 is crystal-clear and radiant with an elegant stream of bubbles. The wine presents three successive states. First, it is fresh, mineral and saline. It then moves into fruity citrus and kiwi notes before expressing classic tertiary aromas which define the House style: puff pastry, brioche, dates and dried apricots. The wine has great depth, defined by an elegance derived from the exceptional Chardonnay fruit ITs palate reflects the delicately nuanced flavors on the nose, complemented by a remarkably voluptuous texture and seemingly never-ending finish. While already providing a superb tasting experience today, the wine posses the power and longevity to age equally as well as earlier vintages.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This is an iconic wine, a pure expression of Chardonnay. With its intense crisp apple aroma and just the first hint of toasty maturity, the Champagne is perfectly in balance.
Cellar Selection -
James Suckling
A compacted, dense blanc de blancs with real intensity, showing tarte tatin and sliced white peaches. Full-bodied. A lovely combination of dried apples, pie crust and underlying acidity. Some subtle brioche. Hints of cream and salted butter. From the villages of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Oger, Vertus, Cramant and Avize. 8.5 years on the lees. Dosage 9 g/L. Disgorged 2023.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Entirely Chardonnay, the bright straw/silver-colored the 2014 Champagne Blanc Des Millénaires has light reduction with beautiful smoky framing as well as notes of white peach, tangerine, fresh flowers, and chalky salinity. Medium-bodied, it has a refined mousse, a silky texture, and a long, elegant finish. It’s not an obvious wine at this stage, but it’s pleasing. It will benefit from time in bottle and drink well over the next couple decades. I like the fruitiness and freshness on the palate. It should pair well with shellfish.
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Decanter
A delicate, bright and serene edition of one of Champagne’s top, if lesser-known, prestige blanc de blancs, emphasising purity over creamy richness. Plenty of ripe aromatics, with fragrant apricot, mandarin, some fresh mango playing with hazelnut and coffee macaron complexity. There’s a calm insistence to the palate, closer to the 2004 than the tension and drama of 2007 or the generosity of 2006. Seems set to be one of the vintage’s top performers.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The eighth rendition of this cuvée, the 2014 Brut Blanc de Blancs Blanc des Millénaires evokes a complex, sweet bouquet of candied lemon, confit citrus, blanched almonds, brioche, honeycomb and ripe orchard fruits. Full-bodied, broad-shouldered and ample, it features a velvety attack and a vinous, fleshy core of fruit, with a textural mid-palate that leads to a spicy, long and delicate finish. This is a stunning new release of this cuvée, showcasing its depth and elegance.
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Vinous
The 2014 Brut Blanc de Millénaires, picked in Avize, Cramant, Mesnil-sur-Oger, Oger and Vertus, spent eight years on lees. Subtle smoke, singed lemon peel and chalk on the nose lead to a palate that is bright and luminously fresh but totally harmonious and juicy. Vivid foam bubbles up with chalky insinuations and mere touches of saltiness in this surprisingly rounded wine. Perhaps less dosage might have been wiser to bring out its essential cut. Lovely now, sure to blossom and evolve. Dosage is 9 grams per liter.
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Wine Spectator
Vivacious and graceful, with a lacy mousse and mouthwatering acidity. Offers fine interplay between this vivid frame and honeyed flavors of poached apricot, quince paste, lemon curd, grilled nuts and brioche. Shows good length on the well-spiced finish. Drink now through 2035.
Régis Camus joined Charles Heidsieck in 1994 and has been the head winemaker of the House since 2002. This meticulous and passionate professional likes to keep an eye on everything: the state of the vineyards, the selection of the grapes, their pressing and their vinification, cru by cru, in individual vats. His mission is to perpetuate the Charles Heidsieck style, reflecting the richness of the Champagne region.
Representing the topmost expression of a Champagne house, a vintage Champagne is one made from the produce of a single, superior harvest year. Vintage Champagnes account for a mere 5% of total Champagne production and are produced about three times in a decade. Champagne is typically made as a blend of multiple years in order to preserve the house style; these will have non-vintage, or simply, NV on the label. The term, "vintage," as it applies to all wine, simply means a single harvest year.
Associated with luxury, celebration, and romance, the region, Champagne, is home to the world’s most prized sparkling wine. In order to bear the label, ‘Champagne’, a sparkling wine must originate from this northeastern region of France—called Champagne—and adhere to strict quality standards. Made up of the three towns Reims, Épernay, and Aÿ, it was here that the traditional method of sparkling wine production was both invented and perfected, birthing a winemaking technique as well as a flavor profile that is now emulated worldwide.
Well-drained, limestone and chalky soil defines much of the region, which lend a mineral component to its wines. Champagne’s cold, continental climate promotes ample acidity in its grapes but weather differences from year to year can create significant variation between vintages. While vintage Champagnes are produced in exceptional years, non-vintage cuvées are produced annually from a blend of several years in order to produce Champagnes that maintain a consistent house style.
With nearly negligible exceptions, . These can be blended together or bottled as individual varietal Champagnes, depending on the final style of wine desired. Chardonnay, the only white variety, contributes freshness, elegance, lively acidity and notes of citrus, orchard fruit and white flowers. Pinot Noir and its relative Pinot Meunier, provide the backbone to many blends, adding structure, body and supple red fruit flavors. Wines with a large proportion of Pinot Meunier will be ready to drink earlier, while Pinot Noir contributes to longevity. Whether it is white or rosé, most Champagne is made from a blend of red and white grapes—and uniquely, rosé is often produce by blending together red and white wine. A Champagne made exclusively from Chardonnay will be labeled as ‘blanc de blancs,’ while ones comprised of only red grapes are called ‘blanc de noirs.’